Syria: "Torture was my punishment": Abductions, torture and summary killings under armed group rule in Aleppo and Idleb, Syria

5 July 2016, Index number: MDE 24/4227/2016

While government forces have been responsible for the majority of violations in the conflict in Syria, the situation in the governorates of Aleppo and Idleb is an informative case study of what happens when armed opposition groups gain territorial control and set up quasi-judicial institutions. This briefing documents 24 cases of abductions carried out between 2012 and 2015. It also documents a number of allegations of summary killings carried out by armed groups against civilians, captured members of the Syrian government’s armed forces and security forces, and of pro-government shabiha militias.